Colorado football: Buffs wide receiver Paul Richardson opts for NFL

Junior becomes the eighth underclassmen in school history to enter draft

By Kyle Ringo Buffzone.com

Posted:
12/02/2013 03:03:17 PM MST

Paul Richardson of CU takes off with his second long touchdown past D.J. Campbell of Cal.
Cliff Grassmick / September 10, 2011 (CLIFF GRASSMICK)

On the day he became the first player from the Colorado football program to earn first team All-Pac-12 Conference honors, wide receiver Paul Richardson announced he is turning pro following a historic junior season.

"I had a great experience here at Colorado," Richardson said at the end of the season news conference for coach Mike MacIntyre on Monday. "I've had a lot of coaching staffs, but I've had these same teammates, a lot of them, for the past four years and it's been awesome."

Richardson was named the Buffs' most valuable player on Sunday by his teammates at the team banquet after setting multiple school receiving records, including the single-season marks for receptions and receiving yards.

He leaves the program owning 29 school records. MacIntyre said he reminded Richardson that if he returned for his senior season he could basically rewrite the record book in numerous offensive categories.

Richardson met with MacIntyre on Monday and also talked with wide receivers coach Troy Walters before announcing his decision on his Twitter account shortly before the press conference. While Colorado fans obviously see Richardson turning pro as a big loss for a team trying to claw its way up the standings in one of the toughest leagues in the nation, Richardson doesn't see it that way.

"I don't think this is a loss for our program at all," Richardson said. "In a way, it's kind of a plus. It gives guys that were behind me the opportunity to show their talents as well and showcase what they can do for this program. They won't have a guy starting off the year being double and triple covered. That took away from our offense. So now you guys that will be in single coverage and man coverage and they will be able to display their talent."

Richardson has three classes to finish this spring while he trains and meets with NFL teams in preparation for the April draft. MacIntyre commended Richardson for handling the process of coming to his decision in a professional way.

"He's put a lot of hard work in here," MacIntyre said. "I'm pretty sure, we talked a little bit, and he had a knee injury earlier in his career and I'm pretty sure he's thinking he doesn't want to have another one. I think that is a smart choice by him on that side of it. He was very professional. He did everything the correct way and I wish him the very, very best and I'm thankful for what he did for us here."

University of Colorado wide receiver Paul Richardson hugs head coach Mike MacIntyre after announcing that he will enter the NFL draft next year during a press conference on Monday, Dec. 2, at the Flatirons Club on the CU campus in Boulder.
Jeremy Papasso/ Camera (JEREMY PAPASSO)

Richardson said he had been talking with his family throughout the season about his future and didn't want to be a distraction to the team. His father, Paul Richardson Sr., played briefly in the NFL in 1983 after a standout career at UCLA.

"We just felt it would be a great time for me to take that next step," Richardson said. "For me to have that support from my head coach, coach MacIntyre, and my position coach, coach Walters, it helped me make this decision."

Richardson said he thought a lot about the opportunity to return next season and possibly lead the Buffs back to a bowl game for the first time since 2007. He said he believes the program is on the right track under MacIntyre and it's only a matter of time before CU is back in the college football postseason, with or without him.

MacIntyre said losing Richardson is obviously a huge blow and he's thankful he has an entire offseason to work on the process of replacing him.

"Today, it really hurts our offense if we had to go play a game tomorrow cause we're not as prepared," MacIntyre said. "But good players leave everybody's team every year. Of course he's an excellent player and we've just got to find a way to fix it and move on and I think we've got guys who can step up, maybe not just one person, but a couple guys. Then again, there could be one person who steps up and does it too when they get the absolute opportunity to do it."

Richardson missed the 2012 season after suffering a torn ACL in spring practices that season. He said he never had any issues this fall with his knee and he believes he showed NFL teams he can be a durable player going forward. MacIntyre, who coached five seasons as an assistant in the NFL, said Richardson will have to add weight and get stronger.

"He definitely needs to get some more size on him for durability factors," MacIntyre said. "If he puts the right type of muscle on, he's not going to lose any speed. He might gain even more speed."

Richardson said his favorite moment of this career was a 2010 victory at Folsom Field over Georgia in which he did not record any statistics. It was a big win for the team. He said he will miss his teammates most of all.

Now he turns his attention the next chapter.

"I don't really listen to my projections," Richardson said. "I just listen to the things I need to work on to be able to move up and those are the things I'll be focusing on during this period of time. I can get faster. I can get stronger and I can just get bigger overall. That's what I'm looking forward to doing."

Notable

Running back Michael Adkins II, linebacker Addison Gillam and place-kicker Will Oliver were named honorable mention All-Pac-12 on Monday. ... MacIntyre said he does not anticipate making any changes to his coaching staff in the offseason. ... CU coaches expect to sign 19-20 recruits in early February. They already have commitments from 15 players.

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